Julien Dubuque - Dubuque's Legacy

Dubuque's Legacy

Julien Dubuque is remembered as the first European to settle in what would become the state of Iowa. He is remembered as a friend of the Native Americans in the area and a champion of their cause. Dubuque was also a generous man who spent lavishly on many friends - this had the unfortunate effect of keeping him in debt during the later part of his life.

When what would eventually become Iowa was opened up to European settlement, the settlement in the area where he had mined was named after him. It was known by several names, including DuBuque's Mines. Eventually, the village became the first city in Iowa, and was named Dubuque in memory of Julien Dubuque. Dubuque's resting place and memorial lie on a cliff facing the Mississippi river at the Julien Dubuque Monument in the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center.